Tuesday, April 2, 2013

TSA Travel Tips Tuesday: Traveling can be for the dogs. And cats, birds, etc…

This is the first installment of “TSA Travel Tips
Tuesday.” Every Tuesday, I plan to share tips for convenient travel and other useful
customer information on my blog. If you have your own tips to add, please feel
free to leave a comment!

Traveling with pets… TSA does not prohibit travel
with pets. However, it is very important that you contact your airline first so
they can let you know about any requirements, fees, or restrictions they might
have.

Checkpoint Screening: Your pet will need to be
screened via checkpoint screening if it’s traveling with you in the cabin of
the plane.

We do not X-ray pets. However, there have been many
occasions where passengers have assumed their pet needed to go through the
X-ray. You can imagine the surprise of the X-ray operator when they see
Fluffy’s skeleton roll across their monitor. It is not an unusual occurrence.

Your pet will need to come out of its carrier, so it is a
good idea to know how your pet will react. Many a cat has gone into a feline
frenzy after being removed from its carrier. An angry cat is never a good
thing.

Even if your travel is “off the leash,” you should strongly
consider keeping your pet on a leash. The checkpoint is a noisy environment
that can cause your pet to flee at its first opportunity. This happens with
humans occasionally as well.

Your pet can be carried through the walk through metal
detector or walked through on leash. If your pet triggers an alarm, one of our
officers will have to take a closer look.

Pets are not screened with advanced imaging technology.

Checked Baggage: If your pet is traveling in a
kennel, your airline will arrange for a TSA Officer to screen the kennel.

Officers will need to inspect your kennel/carrier for
prohibited items with you present. Sometimes this can be done visually, but
it’s good to have a leash handy in case the officer asks you to remove your pet
from the kennel/carrier.

If your pet isn’t the usual cat or dog and you would like to
give TSA a heads up, you can contact a TSA Customer Support Manager at your
departure airport using Talk to TSA.

If you’re traveling with a service animal, you can find more
information here.
You can also call the TSA Cares Help Line.

If you’re traveling with a Mog, they can be screened
as a regular passenger.

"Fluffy doesn't go through AIT, does that mean I don't go through AIT?"

I'm no fan of AIT. I think TSA routinely dismisses legitimate safety concerns about the technology. They also refuse to provide their workers dosimeter badges which might give them a heads up if the equipment was starting to drift out of calibration. However unlike yourself Fluffy is already naked at the checkpoint...at least I hope unlike you.

Looking for tips, I think the best tip is for travelers to recognize that the checkpoint personnel are live actual human beings, there to do their job. Just like me, when I'm doing my job.

As a frequent traveler, In addition to the 3-1-1 rule, my own rules to follow for quick and efficient screening: 1) greet the person checking with a good morning, good afternoon, etc. 2) before #1, take the 10 seconds that it takes to get your ID out so you can hand it to him/her as you approach. Don't get there and then reach to get your wallet. 3) if there's a TSA agent standing near the x-rays reminding take your belts off, it means that people are forgetting a lot today. Go ahead and unbuckle that belt and start sliding it off. 4) in the AIT scanners, remember to make like Mickey Mouse ears with your hands as the ears. 5) if called for a bag check, remember the agent is there doing his/her job, and listen to what the agent is asking you or directing you to do. Something didn't look right in the x-ray, or you've missed something in your bag that should be in checked luggage. 6) remember the agents don't like sharp pointy things. If its sharp or pointy, it might not belong in your carry on luggage in the first place.

I don't know if these are all obvious or not, but it's how I get trough my checkpoints every week.

@Wintermute: You will not go through the AIT if you travel with a pet (using the AIT requires you to have your arms up above your head. You won't be able to do that if you are carrying your pet).

As Bob said, you can either carry your pet, or walk your pet with a leash (best to have a non-metallic one) to go through the walk-through metal detector. If you carry your pet through the WTMD, you will also get your hands swabbed. If the WTMD alarms, and continues to alarm after several passes, TSA officer will come take a look at your pet as Bob said, and you will get a pat-down.

"As Bob said, you can either carry your pet, or walk your pet with a leash (best to have a non-metallic one) to go through the walk-through metal detector. If you carry your pet through the WTMD, you will also get your hands swabbed. If the WTMD alarms, and continues to alarm after several passes, TSA officer will come take a look at your pet as Bob said, and you will get a pat-down."

So, this means all that I have to do to avoid both AIT and the pat-down is to travel with Fluffy and avoid alarming the WTMD?

what's with the jokes? Travel security is serious business, and you discredit yourself when you start making jokes and movie references. Please refrain from doing so in the future, if you want the public (including the haterz) to take you seriously.

Is there any plan to announce on this blog that the TSA has finally (more than 18 months after being ordered to by a judge) begun the notice of rulemaking and public comment procedure the law required of the TSA before putting the whole-body imaging devices into service as a primary means of screening?

The notice is in the Federal Register here: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/03/26/2013-07023/passenger-screening-using-advanced-imaging-technology

And one of the ways for the public to provide comments is to fill out this form: http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=TSA-2013-0004-0001

"4) in the AIT scanners, remember to make like Mickey Mouse ears with your hands as the ears. "

How would you advise politely opting out of AIT in a friendly way that reminds the helpful folks at TSA that it is optional and you have that right without getting yelled at?

Just asking because I actually do the other things but opting out frequently brings out the hostile behavior. I'll need a pat down if I go through it anyway. I always say where it will alarm on me and I'm never touched there either.

I use the ID I want to use, whether or not the clerk paid sufficient attention to his training to recognize it. When I get to the table, I organize my things on my own time and put them through on my own time, making sure that I have everything and that everything is where I want it to be. The smarter the clerk is, the less likely it is for something to "not look right" on X-ray. I didn't establish the poor hiring practices at the TSA, and if I am delayed because the clerk isn't smart enough to recognize what's right in front of his face, I don't blame myself.

I get through my checkpoints just fine doing this, and I actually do travel frequently.

"Did Bob just give terrorists a tip on how to sneak non-metallic threats through TSA security?"

That would seem to be the case, and was also the reason for my line of questioning... However, I have one more for the anonymous who answered...

So, if Icarry Fluffy through the WTMD, my hands get swabbed, but if I walk Fluffy through on a leash, they don't? Assuming I don't alarm, is this correct? If so, have there been any studies showing that people carrying there pets through are more of a risk than ones who walk them through on a leash? For that matter, has one been done showing that people travelling with pets are less of a risk than those travelling without?

These are serious questions, as it appears to open a HUGE security hole...

OK, so now I know that if I want to avoid the horrid full body scanners without being treated to the retaliatory rub down plus hands-in-pants, all I have to do is take my pet with me! Thanks for the help!

Your question about how to politely opt out... I haven't been in this situation personally, but I've seen it done by others. You are talking to the guy/gal checking our ID. You say "Hey - I have a xxxxx condition, and it's usually easier on all of us if I go through the mag rather than AIT... may I opt out?" Let them help you, rather than making demands.

I'm not TSA - Maybe Bob can ask an officer for some specific advice here.

Does your job involve the harassment and illegal search of people who's only crime is wanting to travel by air?

Come on - really? the fact that you believe these folks are there to commit crimes by performing illegal searches and seizures all day long (ok, let's just say it -- violating your 4th amendment rights), then you probably need to get a better grip on reality.

Do you think these officers come to work each day looking for people to harass? Do you think that's fun for them?

Or, have you considered that maybe - just maybe - they come to work hoping that they make it through without getting yelled at, without upsetting an elderly person to the point where it puts them in distress, and hoping today's not the day they find a loaded gun, hoping today's not the day they find something unique that later ends up making the news... or worse, miss something that ends up making the news. There's a lot of stress there, and a lot on the line.

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to do their job for a day?

I think it's utterly ridiculous to be required to remove a cat from a carrier, whether its collar is attached to a leash or not. I know, I know. The pat reply will be "BUT A TERRORIST WILL PUT A BOMB IN A CAT CARRIER AND WE'LL ALL DIIIIIIE!"

No, what you're going to have with this ridiculous rule is a terrified cat being removed from a place of safety and surrounded by loud people and noises in an unfamiliar place. Since most cat collars today have quick release or elastic bands to prevent a cat from choking itself, the leash proposition will probably fail. A loose cat at the checkpoint will waste a lot more time than careful inspection of the animal in the carrier.

I know, I know. The next pat response will be, "DON'T BRING A CAT ON BOARD!!!!" or "DON'T FLY!!!"

Wrong answer. People have the right to fly and the right to carry their animals (property) in the way they feel is best and that conforms with transportation rules. Since pets are allowed on board planes, someone can fly with their cat.

I know, I know. "WELL THEN, WHY DON'T YOU MAKE A SUGGESTION?!!"

OK, here it is. If the TSA insists on a cat being removed from the carrier, do it in an enclosed space where if the cat slips its collar, it cannot run free in the terminal and get hurt.

"There are many procedures you are not aware of that take place during screening. Bob did not identify a hole. LOL"

Actually, as stated, he did. The procedure for me if I take Fluffy though the WTMD on a leash and neither of us alarm is... nothing beyond having just gone through the WTMD, as the pat-down would only be done if I alarm (not that the pat-down is particularly effective and finding underwear bombs, as recent red-team tests show). Or are you saying this is not the case?

Anonymous said...Does your job involve the harassment and illegal search of people who's only crime is wanting to travel by air?

Come on - really? the fact that you believe these folks are there to commit crimes by performing illegal searches and seizures all day long (ok, let's just say it -- violating your 4th amendment rights), then you probably need to get a better grip on reality.

Do you think these officers come to work each day looking for people to harass? Do you think that's fun for them?

Or, have you considered that maybe - just maybe - they come to work hoping that they make it through without getting yelled at, without upsetting an elderly person to the point where it puts them in distress, and hoping today's not the day they find a loaded gun, hoping today's not the day they find something unique that later ends up making the news... or worse, miss something that ends up making the news. There's a lot of stress there, and a lot on the line.

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to do their job for a day?

April 3, 2013 at 7:57 PM.............For starters TSA screeners are not officers not matter what TSA thinks.

When TSA makes the news it because a TSA screener fouls up. It happens almost weekly.

Any stress at a TSA checkpoint is caused by TSA screeners who yell, demand, and try to order people about when such acts are just not needed.

TSA and its employees are what's wrong with airport security, not the travelers who are going about their Constitutional Right to Travel without interference from the government.

Anonymous said...Do you think these officers come to work each day looking for people to harass? Do you think that's fun for them?

Yes- positions of authority often attract, well, to be honest- sociopaths. People who enjoy having power over others.

Or, have you considered that maybe - just maybe - they come to work hoping that they make it through without getting yelled at, without upsetting an elderly person to the point where it puts them in distress

Have you (or, have they) considered that being a TSA screener isn't the right job for them?? If you can't stand the heat... don't become a cook.

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to do their job for a day?

Yeah. It'd be cool to be able to feel people up, steal stuff from their luggage, and be able to intimidate them with 'Do You Want To Fly Today?!"

Hey, Bob, want to post something about the guy at JFK who got himself on a plane using his SIDA card after being turned away at a checkpoint - and while a screener watched him using this SIDA card to get to his plane?

OK, here it is. If the TSA insists on a cat being removed from the carrier, do it in an enclosed space where if the cat slips its collar, it cannot run free in the terminal and get hurt.

April 4, 2013 at 12:01 PM ------------------------- All you have to do is ask. They will screen you and your animal in the private screening room if you request it. Easier to complain though, I guess.

April 4, 2013 at 1:22 PM

What are you talking about, Anonymous? I presented an issue with the post as written by Bob and provided a possible solution. I never said a passenger shouldn't or couldn't ask for a private room.

Now, the question is, will the TSA screener comply with the request? Based upon TSA history, I think there will be some screeners who will refuse this practical, common sense request.

Or better yet, why not have management tell screeners to suggest a private room or using the Glass Box of Shame? That gives the passenger the option. I am certain some infrequent flyers don't know a private room even exists.

People shouldn't have to ask to have their cats screened in an enclosed space. This situation is scary and awful for both cats and their owners (I know, I've done it), and we shouldn't have to muster up the courage to demand the only sane, safe, and humane way for it to be done and risk being accused of interfering with the screening. An enclosed space should be the DEFAULT screening of a cat coming out of a carrier, and until it is passing through the TSA should be considered unsafe for and even hostile toward cats.

Okay, I'm not understanding the big deal with the officers vs. agents argument...I mean really?!!! Do you have nothing better to do? And yes, they are called officers. TSO stands for transportation security OFFICER, not agent. Why is that title such a big deal to you?

We use your blog a lot because we travel extensively and have pets. TSA is a really good site and very helpful. When we were boarding a plane back from Haiti there was a man that kept trying to hide something. He'd got a snake and was trying to bring in back to the states. This is a very good thing.

Yes I knew one person that actually put an exotic baby capuchin monkey from the rainforest in his bag. He said when he got on the plane it started chirping like a bird. They charged him with it.They carry all types of dieseases.

When you travel to a foreign country, especially a developing country, you need to ensure that you contact a travel health specialist at least 4-8 weeks before the date of travel. This applies to humans and in some situations their pets too.

Flying out of Logan next week, moving cross-country with cat. What is best way to counter expected resistance to my request for private screening of cat carrier. I know I can't safely hang onto her out in the open. Yes, I am looking for Magic Words here, and I don't mean "please." I know that one and have no trouble using it. Anything else? Thanks.

Good tips. Also, remember to never take anything personally. When the agent says something, listen, and don't assume they have something against you. They are just doing their job, just like a doctor and lawyer do their jobs.

My tips because they forgot a huge one. Dog waste station bags are a must but rarely given out at the airports. Actually never. Not the TSA's fault by any means. The airports should make these available all over the terminal. Accidents happen all the time, they're animals. Can;t tell you how many times I have saw a dog use the bathroom right in the middle of the terminal and the dog owner just walks away. One reason is there are no dog waste bags to be found. Just my 2 cents anyways.

There's a time and a place for everything, Only in my opinion. We have a host of animals but they are at home.There's been crocs,exotic red colored snakes and perana's found in local Tennessee waters due to people stealing and manipulating airlines' rules. How insane is that?